Good, Clean And Fair - Finding The Way: Seeing Through The Corporate Trickery 2008

GOOD, CLEAN & FAIR – FINDING THE WAY… And Seeing Through the Corporate Trickery WE ARE WHAT WE EAT in every way and food is the symbolic key to leaving the celebration sober and smarter than before. It’s the foundation of our everyday lives that’ll make or break us. We started to rebuild that foundation with organic food and yet corporations have twisted some of it for their own ends. Now we’re moving towards more food localism. We’re going to have to take organic and local and go beyond them in the spirit of fairness and trust. Today’s politics, culture and economics stand against all of this and yet there are still people with the focus and determination to make real change happen. And this change will need every bit of your passion and dedication to a better way. We need to seize the bull of policy and governance, so to speak, and guide it deftly towards a brighter future. SETTING THE STAGE Organic foods really took off when people forgot the environmental and social reasons for it and focused on personal health and the idea of a new fresh and trendy “package”1. We can deny it no more – organic food, especially the unprocessed kind2, is simply better for you compared to chemically ‘spoiled’ or highly processed food. First, you reduce your exposure to pesticides that can harm you and your children while they’re still growing3. Secondly, organic food has more health and brain boosting nutrients and cancer fighting anti-oxidants on average4. It can be as high as 40% for vegetables and 90% for milk depending on where it’s made for example. In a world where poor diet is rapidly killing millions of rich and poor people alike through preventable diseases like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer – you can bet that we need more real, healthy, better tasting food!5 Organics has become the new quality norm for many people these days6. “The demand is so huge that it’s rising at 20% per year and is growing ten times faster than all other agriculture sectors”, 7 according to Laura Telford, the executive director of Canadian Organic Growers. “There aren’t even enough organic farmers to meet that demand and we’ve had to import the majority of it.” Organic fresh fruits and vegetables as well as dairy are the big-ticket items. Still it’s unfortunate to know that only 1.5% of our national population are certified organic farmers which isn’t enough to feed 32 million people in a desperate, socially and environmentally needed way. Why aren’t we making a bigger effort to make farming a real, respectable career? Why aren’t more people reconnecting with the land in a time when few can make a decent living in a tide of falling workers wages and rising corporate profits?8 CORPORATE CON MEN The shortage of farmers isn’t the only challenge to organic food and agriculture. If you’re buying heavily processed organic foods you’re overlooking the small family farmer. According to Irena Knezevic, a PhD scholar at York University, “Most of the major organic brands are owned by large corporations such as ConAgra, Cargill, Kraft, Coca Cola and Pepsi.”9 They’ve taken the name and skin of “organic” and threw out everything that really

mattered to communities, people’s livelihoods and the environment - all in the name of profit without moral or political limits. How could they possibly pass up such a savoury opportunity even if it meant cutting corners10 to exploit your desire for a better life? Organic food generally remains something for those who can afford it – often labeled “yuppy chow”. Some associate it with looking thin. Its become a sort of “food fetish” says Knezevic.11 The story doesn’t end there however. THE SMALL FARMER AND “THE CON” As this corporate organic “industry” grows larger, small organic farmers continue to disappear. These are the real people who work toward a better way of growing food and living lightly. This is definitely a growing problem in the US. In Canada, our small number of producers has managed to stave off the control of corporations like Wal-Mart since the Canadian market is so small that farmers held the bargaining power12. In the US, corporations have used the original small organic farms they bought out as public relations show pieces (the “front”) to maintain the illusion of real people, real food. This is used in their public relations and advertising. Corporations want to appear “small and authentic” and avoid the reputation of the “big, bad corporation”.13 Of course all the money they throw into their fancy packaging is all the harder to compete with according to farmer Kim Perry, whose store Local Family Farms in Verona sells local and organic products from around Kingston and countryside. All one can say is to keep trying to stay informed and avoid eating too much corporately processed organics if possible since we wouldn’t be doing our local community and friends any favours. PULLING A FAST ONE Of course trying to read the labels and stay informed can be as hard as trying to thread a needle with sand thrown in your eyes. There are over 30 different organic certification symbols and standards in Canada14. Try making sense of that! Unfortunately, only the USDA organic certification is the most well known. That standard has been stained by lax enforcement over the organic practices fraud perpetrated by Aurora Organic dairy for example15. Canada is working on a nation wide certification for 2008 that will make it easier to recognize Canadian ‘certified organic’. There are concerns however that labeling will continue to increase corporate control over organic foods in Canada. After all government subsidies would favour large “organic”16 factory farms over small farms17. The labeling doesn’t deal with social and environmental damage from importing food (food miles18, food safety19), unfair labour practices20, using migrant labour21 or losing out on helping local communities or economies by buying local22. To some, these sorts of labels are just one more marketing tool in the corporate bag of “tricks”.23 Certainly there are labels you can respect such as Local Food Plus (LFP), based out of Toronto. It’s the only certification right now that does factor in being socially responsible (fair wages for all workers, animal welfare) among many other things.24 PASSING THROUGH THE MIRAGE

Deep down you’re all responsible people who are looking for a truly better way to live your life, help your community and enjoy real food. Buying local when possible is one of those ways. Buying local and organic gets you to the next step. Buying fairly traded foods that can’t be grown here for one reason or another yet support local economies of developing nations brings us even closer to the high ground. Kim Perry offers her kind and honest advice when trying to walk this path. “It’s a simple answer. Check out the Eating Close to Home directory and talk to all the farmers in it. It’s like trying to find a good mechanic. Check the organic food link from the Sleepless Goat or the Local Harvest newspaper that the National Farmers’ Union puts out. Research it like anything else, use the Internet.”25 The message she tells us is getting across. The gist: to buy locally from farmers or producers you can see with your own two eyes and hear with your own two ears – people you can trust. How could you possibly go wrong! There are many organic farmers in Kingston and countryside. Thoughtfully encourage your local conventional farmers to slowly adopt humane and environmentally friendly practices. Of course this is only halfway up the hill, my devoted friends! Real change means forcing policy makers and bureaucrats to put limits on corporations, to join, promote and support local and organic agriculture, just labour practices for migrants and farm labourers as well as fair trade. It means uniting and raising our voices for a better world for our children. It means becoming leaders – among friends, in our communities and even through government. Only then will we be ready and able to realize a brighter day ahead and have food down the road that truly nourishes us. Sunny Lam is an independent writer and consultant on issues of sustainability, food systems, urban agriculture and communication. He is a Master’s graduate from the School of Environmental Studies at Queen’s University, a founding member of the Farmers’ Market @ Queen’s and a former volunteer organizer with Food Down the Road. (416 845 0818 or [email protected]) References Bergamo P, Fedele E, Iannibelli L and G Marzillo. 2003. Fat-soluble vitamin contents and fatty acid composition in organic and conventional Italian dairy products. Food Chemistry 82: 625-631. Biro A and J Johnston. 2007. Organic Foodscapes and the Corporate Selling of Place. Fourth Annual Conference for Social Research in Organic Agriculture. Guelph, Ontario (Jan 26) Cornucopia Institute. 2007a. Aurora Dairy Exemption from Check-off Program Challenged. 31 Oct. The Cornucopia Institute. 19 Nov 2007 Cornucopia Institute. 2007b. Stalking a Killer in Our Greens. The Cornucopia Institute. 09 Nov 2007. 17 Aug 2007 Cornucopia Institute. 2007c. USDA Enforcement Action At Nation’s Largest Dairy Fails to Levy Fines or Yank Certification – Findings of Investigation Appear to Constitute Fraud. The Cornucopia Institute. 09 Nov 2007. 17 Aug 2007

Curl CL, Fenske RA and K Elgethun. 2003. Organophosphorous Pesticide Exposure of Urban and Suburban Preschool Children with Organic and Conventional Diets. Environmental Health Perspectives 111 (3): 377-382. 07 Jul 2007 . DOI: 10.1289/ehp.5754 Desjardins E. 2007. Eat up! It's good for you! - what the scientific literature says about the health benefits of organics. Presentation. Growing Up Organic Conference. Toronto, ON (Feb 17). Friedmann H. 2007. Scaling up: Bringing public institutions and food service corporations into the project for a local, sustainable food system in Ontario. Department of Sociology and Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Mar 11). Guthman J. 2002. Commodified Meanings, Meaningful Commodities: Re-thinking Production-Consumption Links through the Organic System of Provision. Sociologia Ruralis 42 (4): 295-311. Guthman J. 2004. The Trouble with 'Organic Lite' in California: a Rejoinder to the 'Conventionalisation' Debate. Sociologia Ruralis 44(3): 301-316. Halliday J. 2007. Organic not organic if it's air-freighted, says Soil Association. Food Navigator. 25 Oct. Decision News Media SAS. 25 Oct 2007 Halweil B. 2007. Still No Free Lunch; Nutrient levels in U.S. food supply eroded by pursuit of high yields. The Organic Center. 22 Sep 2007 Jobin N. 2006. Presenter, Plenary Session IV - New Realities: What Are the Implications of Canadian Consumer Food Choices? The McGill Institute for the Study of Canada Annual Conference: What Are We Eating? Towards a Canadian Food Policy, Montreal, Quebec. (15-17 Feb) Knechtel J (ed). 2008. Food. China: MIT Press. Knezevic I. 2007. In Labels We Trust: A Critical Look at Consumer Need for Food Labelling. Organization. In: Koc M, McRae R and K Bronson (eds). 2007. Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Food Studies. Toronto: McGraw Hill-Ryerson. Lam S. 2006. Food Miles: Environmental Implications of Food Imports to the Kingston Region - Brief Summary of Findings and Comparison to Waterloo Region (Report). School of Environmental Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (Jul 28). Lam S. 2007. Urban Agriculture in Kingston: Present and Future Potential for Re-localization and Sustainability. MES Thesis to fulfill the requirements for the Masters of Environmental Studies

Degree. School of Environmental Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada: 34-35. Macey A. 2006. Certified Organic Production in Canada 2005. Prepared for Canadian Organic Growers. Ottawa, ON (Aug). Mercola J. 2007. Be Very Wary of What Organic Foods You Buy, and Where You Buy Them. Mercola.com. 17 Nov. Dr. Joseph Mercola. 18 Nov 2007 Niggli U, Leifert C, Alfoldi T, Luck L and H Willer (eds). 2007. Improving Sustainability in Organic and Low Input Food Production Systems. Proceedings of the 3rd International Congress of the European Integrated Project 'Quality Low Input Food' (QLIF). University of Hohenheim, Hohenheim, Germany (20-23 Mar). Pawlick T. 2007. Our children's food, our children's survival. Presentation. Growing Up Organic Conference. Toronto, ON (Feb 17). Perry K. 2007. Interview with Kim Perry, Perry-Maine Anjou Farms. Personal Interview. 14 Nov. Rembialkowska E, Hallmann E and A Rusaczonek. 2007. Influence of Processing on Bioactive Substances Content and Antioxidant Properties of Apple Puree from Organic and Conventional Production in Poland. 3rd QLIF Congress. Hohenheim, Germany (20-23 Mar). 15 Aug 2007 Roberts EM, English PB, Grether JK, Windham GC, Somberg L and C Wolff. 2007. Maternal Residence Near Agricultural Pesticide Applications and Autism Spectrum Disorders Among Children in the California Valley. Environmental Health Perspectives. doi:10.1289/ehp.10168 Roberts W. 2007b0. Evening Talk. Food Movements with Momentum. Food Down the Road Event #4 Presentation. City Hall (Memorial Hall), Kingston, ON (May 10). Russell E and M Dufour. 2007. Rising Profit Shares, Falling Wage Shares. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. 29 Jun 07 Telford L. 2007. The New Organic World. Presentation. Seeds of Diversity Annual General Meeting. Northern District Library, Toronto, Ontario. (28 Oct) Theuer RC. 2006. Do Organic Fruits and Vegetables Taste Better than Conventional Fruits and Vegetables? State of Science Review: Taste of Organic Food. The Organic Center. 23 Oct 2007 Tinderbox. 2007. Fresh Thinking on Fresh: The Ongoing Redefinition of Quality. Tinderbox Spark. 07 Nov. The Hartman Group, Inc. 07 Nov 2007

Ungoed-Thomas J. 2007. Eat your words, all who scoff at organic food. TimesOnline. 28 Oct. Name of institution/organization. 31 Oct 2007 1

Guthman 2004 Rembialkowska et al. 2007 3 Curl et al. 2003, Roberts et al. 2007 4 Desjardins 2007, Halweil 2007, Ungoed-Thomas 2007, Niggli et al. 2007, Bergamo et al. 2003 5 Pawlick 2007, Jobin 2006, Roberts 2007b0, Theuer 2006 6 Tinderbox 2007 7 Macey 2006, Telford 2007, Knezevic 2007 8 Russell and Dufour 2007 9 Knezevic 2007 10 Mercola 2007, Cornucopia Institute 2007a,c 11 Telford 2007, Knezevic 2007, Guthman 2002, Guthman 2004, Biro and Johnston 2007 12 Telford 2007 13 Biro and Johnston 2007 14 Telford 2007 15 Mercola 2007, Cornucopia Institute 2007a,c 16 Cornucopia Institute 2007b, Guthman 2004: Earthbound Organics is a monoculture operation that grows only chemical free salad greens for acres as far as the eye can see. Hardly in keeping with true biodiversity. 17 Knezevic 2007 18 Perry 2007, Knezevic 2007, Knechtel 2008, Lam 2006, Lam 2007, Halliday 2007 19 Perry 2007, Mercola 2007 20 Guthman 2002, Guthman 2004, Biro and Johnston 2007 21 Guthman 2002, Guthman 2004, Biro and Johnston 2007 22 Knezevic 2007, Lam 2007, Knezevic 2007, Cornucopia Institute 2007a,b 23 Knezevic 2007 24 Friedmann 2007 25 Perry 2007 2